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Anyone know where or if one of these might be found? I did try contacting the person listed as owner but
didn't hear back. Complete drawings would be even better of course. Most beautiful outline, in my eyes.
Thanks!

Have you tried the GAL's list of plans?
Mike

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Mike Collins

Try to reconstruct it by reducing the easily available SE 117. My favorite is the FE 13 / 21B kind.

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Build log

Alex,

FE17 is larger than SE117.

Mike,

It's not on the GAL list.

Carey,

I made up plantilla drawing for FE17 and a bracing diagram. I can't verify it's precise accuracy, but I'd venture to say that it's pretty close. I used the dimensional info in the catalog of the Romanillos book, took the photos of FE17 that are in the book, and enlarged them till they matched the dimensions. Then I took the technical info provided in the catalog description, the Taregga chapter of the book, and the general build approach for Torres, and drew out the plans. At this point, that is as far as I've gone.

I'm saving this project for when I feel ready to really tackle it as well as possible. That, and I have some current projects to finish first. I'm really looking forward to it!

I'm pretty sure that anyone who has attempted to build an FE17 type of guitar has used basically this approach. I'm sure that you could do this, too. If no one else has something to offer, and you can't manage to make your own drawing, I'll try to help as well as I can.

Do you have the Romanillos book? It's a great help.

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Expectation is the source of all misery; comparison the thief of joy.
http://redrivercanoe.ca/

I meant 114 i always mix it up with the tiny 117

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Build log

I'm having trouble posting- thanks very much everyone for the replies. I've basically tried to do what
Doug Ingram has suggested, only with FE12, but I'm not really happy with my results. It's *that outline*
in particular that I want, alas. I'll keep working on it; thanks again for the ideas (and further ones welcome). -CW

Carey, what are you using for your source information?

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Expectation is the source of all misery; comparison the thief of joy.
http://redrivercanoe.ca/

At present I'm using the revised edition of Romanillos's Torres book, along with the bit of info
in the Evans book, Doug. Distortion in the enlargement of the photo is the main problem, I think.
(FE12 photo on p.99 of Romanillos) -CW

You need to get the Grondona/Waldner book (GSI?) as it has much better (dead on) photos of FE17 which is as you know nearly identical in its plantilla.
I'm with Doug on the enlargement process checked with known/published measurements. If done with a proper straight on shot, you can get it within a mm or two....certainly within the variance of what one will find when actually building the guitar.
This is the way I developed patterns for both the FE 14 and FE 09 guitars.
I too would like to do a copy of FE12, but there is just not enough published info to make it a satisying project for me at this point....it is a beauty though...

www.guitarsbydavidlaplante.com

Daryl Perry has some excellent photos of his FE17 here: http://perryguitars.com/torres_1864.html

As I wrote earlier, I am saving this project for when I can make a really special effort on it.

_________________
Expectation is the source of all misery; comparison the thief of joy.
http://redrivercanoe.ca/

Still having trouble posting. David and Doug, thank you for the very useful resources! -Carey, @ 2wpm...

Carey, In case this helps, this is what I have so far. You can use the ruler on the side to scale it. The grid isn't a set value. Consider this a preliminary drawing, not as authoritative.

_________________
Expectation is the source of all misery; comparison the thief of joy.
http://redrivercanoe.ca/